While Carol has proven to me that companion travel is superior to solo, nothing has changed about my attitude to group tours. I have the one direct experience to look to for proof.

When the door to Cuba had opened up back in 2016, Carolyn and I had booked a Roads Scholar tour of that historic island. I set aside my fundamental abhorrence of group tours, because it did seem to be the best way to get the most out of the cultural, historic and political realities of Cuba in the most efficient way. In that, our decision was correct, as I returned with a notebook full of notes, and Carolyn with photos we would not have been able to get on our own, had the governments involved even permitted it.

Since this cloak had also been draped over the couple of people who’d truly annoyed him, he felt it was well worthwhile to evidently be branded the trip’s official @#$hole.

It was a relatively small group of about 18, and there was only one that was truly annoying from the get go. Boarding the bus in the morning, he’d head straight for the last row in back. He did the same at the various meeting rooms, and at meal times, he had this technique for letting all the tables fill up in the hope that he’d wind up with the remaining table to himself. When he found himself stuck at a table composed of others, he remained wordless for the most part, and tried always to be the first to leave.

He must have telegraphed his aspersions, because about half way through, he noticed that the rest of the group was consciously steering clear of him. He noticed a couple of times where members of the group approached a patio or reception area of open seating, spotted him and literally spun on their heels to walk the other way. He was pleased to see he’d managed to create that cloak of isolation without any overt action on his part. Since this cloak had also been draped over the couple of people who’d truly annoyed him, he felt it was well worthwhile to evidently be branded the trip’s official @#$hole.

Beyond the social demands of a group tour comes also the regimentation. Both Carolyn and I found those relatively early morning wake up calls grated against our natural, more lackadaisical approach to starting a day on the road. Apparently this did not pertain to all other members of the entourage, and we found ourselves hanging around waiting for the same stragglers every morning. We’d been warned the whole week about water borne illness, and it was somewhat comforting when it befell a couple of the most notorious stragglers. At least we didn’t have to wait for them, curled up as they were into a ball of stabbing pain back in their rooms. I know this pose precisely, because it befell  to me as well.

Lest you think my Cuban cold shoulder left Carolyn in the wilderness, she was quite content to use my cloak to shield her from the ones that got on her nerves the same way they got on mine. That’s what made us such great traveling companions, and why I’m so blessed to have Carol with me now.

Though she has been having some success showing me the less annoying I am, the less annoying others tend to be.